Interwar years

• In 1924 the Labour Party in Great Britain was established as a viable governing party by forming a short-lived government.

Sinn Fein (Ourselves Alone) movement

• January 21, 1919 they declared Irish independence.

• Irish nationalists who wanted independence from British rule.

• Civil war broke out between the military wing of Sinn Fein (which became the Irish Republican Army (IRA)), and the British army.

• Conflict ended with a treaty in December 1921 (established the Irish Free State as one of the dominions in the British Commonwealth).

Popular Front

• Most important French interwar political experiment.

• 1936 came to office.

• Composed of socialists, radicals, and communists.

• Enacted major social and economic reforms including 40-hour work weeks, paid vacations for workers, and compulsory arbitration of labor disputes.

• Final collapse in October 1938.

Bolshevik Revolution

• Established the most extensive and durable of all twentieth-century authoritarian governments.

• Bolsheviks seized power violently through revolution.

• Party membership rarely exceeded more than 1% of the Russian population.

• Believed in the collectivization of economic life.

War Communism—Policy implemented by the Bolsheviks in Russia during the Russian Civil War. A set of emergency measures to control the economy and resources to support the Red Army.

New Economic Policy (NEP) - Introduced by Vladimir Lenin, it was a plan to revive the economy by allowing some private businesses and small-scale private farming while the state still controlled major industries.

Comintern

• Third International of the European Socialists movement.

• It worked to make the Bolshevik model of Socialism.

• Imposed 21 conditions on any Socialist party that wished to join it.

• Included acknowledging Moscow's leadership, rejecting (reformists of) revisionists socialism, repudiating previous socialist leaders, and adopting the communist party name.

• Sought to destroy demoralized Socialism.

Joseph Stalin

• Political manipulator.

• Supported Nikolai Bukharin's position on economic development.

• He urged that socialism could be achieved in Russia alone.

Trotsky

• Speaking for the left wing/head of Red Army.

• Urged rapid industrialization and looked to voluntary collectivization of farming by poor peasants as means of increasing agricultural production.

• Argued that the revolution in Russia could only succeed if new revolutions took place elsewhere.

Collectivization - The replacement of private peasant farms with huge state-run and state-owned farms called collectives.

• Soviet government needed more grain to feed the growing population in cities.

• Farmers were reluctant to sell their grain to gov at low prices. This led to a shortage of grain and social unrest. To solve this, the gov collectivized agriculture.

Gov sought to remove wealthy farmers known as the Kulaks, from their land and force persons to work on collective farms. This resulted in resistance, violence, and famine. Millions of peasants died, deported, or starved to death.

Great Purges:

Stalin targeted and eliminated anyone he saw as a threat to his power. This was triggered by the assassination of Sergei Kirov (many believed Stalin authorized it). It was characterized by show trials where high Soviet leaders publicly confessed to political crimes and were convicted and executed. Thousands were arrested and sent to labor camps (gulags). A new communist party that was loyal to Stalin was created.

Fascism: A way of government that was against democracy and sought a world that would be safe for the middle class and small farmers. It was derived from the Italian Fascist movement of Benito Mussolini.

The heir to Russia's throne, Alexei, suffered from hemophilia. Normal medicine didn't help.

Czarina Alexandra went searching for holistic treatment.

Rasputin told her that he had a vision (a virgin Mary came to him) and he is supposed to help her son, and he does.

He and Alexei became friends.

Grigori Rasputin:

mystic healer

mad monk

socially awkward

Rumored as demonic, supernatural

trusted by royals

May have slept with the Czarina, definitely slept with some nobles' wives though.

Very divisive figure among nobles.

Italy Independent Notes

Fascist has been used to describe the various right-wing dictatorships that arose between the wars; it was derived from the Italian Fascist movement of Benito Mussolini.

Fascist regimes were anti-democratic, anti-Marxist, anti-parliamentary, and anti-Semitic. They aimed to halt the spread of Bolshevism, which they perceived as a threat. They sought a world safe for the middle class, small businesses, and small landowners. Fascist governments were typically single-party dictatorships characterized by terrorism and police surveillance of both opponents and the general citizenry.

The Italian Fasci di Combattimento (Band of Combat) was founded in 1919. Most members were war veterans who felt their sacrifices in the war were in vain. They resented Italy's failure to gain the city of Fiume (northern end of the Adriatic Sea), and others. They feared socialism, inflation, and labor unrest.

Benito Mussolini:

The leader of "Il Duce".

Italian politician.

His Fascist organization was one of many small political groups.

He was an opportunist par excellence.

He could change his ideas and principles to suit every new occasion.

Action was more important than thought.

His sole rule was political survival.

He became famous for his speeches surrounded by his Fascist and military supporters.

Post-war Italy was politically unstable, with widespread dissatisfaction towards the parliamentary system. People felt that Italy emerged from the war less victorious than it deserved.

Gabriele D'Annunzio, an extreme nationalist writer, seized Fiume with a force of patriotic Italians in 1919. This period experienced political unrest marked by strikes, land seizures, and parliamentary deadlock. The Socialist and Catholic Popular parties could not cooperate. Initially supporting worker actions, Mussolini later shifted his stance, aligning with the upper and middle classes fearing a Communist revolution. His Fascist squads used violence against strikes and socialists, enjoying the support of landowners and factory owners while authorities ignored their actions. By 1922, Fascists controlled much of northern Italy, giving Mussolini significant political power.

The Fascist Party, through intimidation and a march on Rome, forced King Victor Emmanuel III to appoint Benito Mussolini as Prime Minister. Mussolini lacked majority support but consolidated power using influence, ruthlessness, and the King's support. In 1924, he changed election laws to give his party a disproportionate advantage, securing his dictatorial role. Mussolini's party won a landslide victory in the 1924 Italian election, seizing control of the chambers of deputies. They ended parliamentary life and established a one-party dictatorship. The Lateran Accord reconciled the Italian state with the Catholic Church, recognizing the Pope's authority over Vatican City; this boosted Mussolini's image.

The Weimar Republic – Post war Germany’s Weimar Republic struggled due to the humiliating terms of the Treaty of Versailles. Established after the defeat of the Imperial army and the Hohenzollern dynasty.

The Weimar Constitution:

• Highly enlightened document

• Guaranteed civil liberties and provided for direct election by universal suffrage of the Reichstag and the President.

• Contained crucial structural flaws that eventually allowed it to be overthrown

Article 48 – Allowed the President, in an emergency, to rule by decree, paving the way for dictatorship.

• Germany was marked by significant political and economic instability.

• The Kapp Putsch – A failed coup attempt and widespread strikes highlighted the political turmoil.

• War made a colossal rise in prices, causing inflation for Germany.

• The value of German currency fell.

• The French invasion of the Ruhr and the German policy of passive resistance led to hyperinflation.

• This economic crisis wiped out middle-class savings; pensions and insurance policies, debts and mortgages could not be paid off.

Adolf Hitler:

• He absorbed the rabid German nationalism and antisemitism that flourished in Vienna.

• He came to hate Marxism, which he associated with the Jews.

• His service in WWI provided a sense of purpose.

• After the war, he joined a small nationalistic, antisemitic political party which became the Nazi Party.

The Nazis advocated for nationalizing industries to gain worker support initially. When this failed, they rebranded socialism in their party name to promote nationalism. Their interpretation of socialism focused on prioritizing the nation's welfare, not state ownership (this affected various economic struggling groups).

The SA (Sturmabteilung), created by the Nazi Party, was a paramilitary group to intimidate opponents and enforce their will. Hitler attempted a forceful seizure of power, resulting in the failed Beer Hall Putsch. Despite being imprisoned, he used his trial to gain national prominence.

Mein Kampf (My Struggle) was written by Hitler while in prison. It outlined his key political views, including fierce antisemitism, opposition to Bolshevism (which he associated with Jews), and the conviction that Germany must expand eastward into Poland and Ukraine to achieve greater living space.

He decided to pursue power legally, transforming himself from a regional figure into a national leader.

Gustav Stresemann was responsible for the reconstruction of the republic and for achieving a sense of self-confidence. He abandoned the policy of passive resistance of Ruhr (because it was unaffordable). With the aid of Hjalmar Schacht, he introduced a new German currency.

The Locarno Agreements were a series of treaties aiming to improve relations between Germany and its neighbors after World War I. France and Germany agreed to respect their shared border, with Britain and Italy promising to intervene if either violated it. Germany also made agreements with Poland and Czechoslovakia and joined the League of Nations. These agreements were seen as a success, bringing peace to Europe.

The Great Depression caused economic hardship in Germany, starting in 1928. Coalition governments struggled to agree on economic policies, disagreeing over social programs and budget balancing. President Hindenburg appointed Heinrich Brüning as chancellor in 1930. Lacking a parliamentary majority, Brüning ruled through emergency presidential decrees, effectively establishing a presidential dictatorship.

High unemployment in Germany during the 1930s benefited extremist political parties. The Nazis, initially with few seats, gained significant power through both elections and street violence. Their paramilitary forces intimidated opponents and garnered support from various segments of society, including business leaders and intellectuals. This combination of electoral success and intimidation led to their rise to power.

Hitler's rise to power began with Germany's struggling economy and political instability under Chancellor Brüning. In the 1932 elections, Hitler's Nazi party gained significant support, though not enough to win. President Hindenburg sought support and appointed Franz von Papen as chancellor. Papen hoped to use the Nazis without giving them full control, so he lifted the ban on Nazi meetings and called for new elections.

Hindenburg refused to make Hitler chancellor, leading to further elections, which failed to contain the Nazi's growing power. Political instability and fear of civil war led to Adolf Hitler being appointed as chancellor. Politicians thought they could control him, but his disciplined party, effective propaganda, and promises of stability gained support. Nazis won out over other conservative nationalist parties because they addressed social insecurities unlike conservatives.

How Hitler consolidated power:

• Used the Reichstag fire to arrest communists and suppress opposition.

• Implemented the Enabling Act to rule by decree.

• Outlawed political parties and trade unions, and took control of federal states.

• Eliminated organized opposition and established a totalitarian regime.

Hitler ordered the murder of Ernst Rohm (leader of SA), a potential threat to Hitler. President Hindenburg died and Hitler became Führer, or sole ruler of Germany and the Nazis.

The SS (Schutzstaffel) – commanded by Heinrich Himmler, originated in the 1920s as a bodyguard for Hitler and had become a more elite paramilitary organization than the larger SA. The SS had about 52,000 men by 1933. It was the instrument that carried out the blood purges of the party in 1934.

Nazis excluded Jews from civil service. The Nuremberg Laws robbed German Jews of their citizenship. Legal exclusion and humiliation of the Jews. Kristallnacht (Night of Smashed Glass): Jewish stores were burned or destroyed; Jews had to pay for the damage because the government confiscated the insurance money.

Continuing Notes...

Communism – A political and economic system (based on Marx’ ideas) of Socialism where all the citizens are equal and work to help the whole, rather than themselves. Goes against a lot of democracy and capitalism norms. Real communism hasn’t truly existed in the grand scale in major countries.

“From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs.”

Marx believed the “proletariat” (working class) had to revolt and take over, then lead. Lenin believed he’d lead a revolt led by professionals; then he’d control things for a while, then bring in “real” communism.

Cap vs. Communism

Cap:

• Private property and ownership allowed/encouraged

• Free market, supply and demand guides goods

• Profit seeking = good

Communism:

• State-owned businesses for the benefit of all, no private property

• Controlled economy with the needs of many guiding production

• Profit seeking = a greedy few taking advantage of the poor, frowned upon

• Very few poor people (in practice everyone is poor)

Dem vs. communism

Democrats:

• Elections/Parties

• Multi-Party System: vote for your leaders, or sometimes representatives that answer to the people.

• Everyone has a voice

• Rights rights rights!!!

Communism:

• Ideally, it is the workers that run the country (in practice…)

• Fake communism has dictatorship/1 party system

• Leaders earn their spot with displays of power and strength

• Emphasis on group succeeding

• National good takes priority over individual rights

1922 - Russia becomes "USSR/Soviet Union"

Five-year plan - Rapidly industrialize

Gulags: camps existed throughout Soviet Union, hard labor, meager food, unsanitary conditions led to high death rates.

Italian Fascism

The Fascist symbol – Latin word fasces, bundles of wooden rods, sometimes held tightly together around an axe; symbolic unity and power.

Fascism – the totalitarian philosophy of a government that glorifies the state and assigns the state control over every aspect of national life.

Ideology:

Powerful and continuing nationalism.

Fascism uses organized violence to suppress opposition.

Glorification of force.

Social Darwinism.

Super anti-democratic.

Identification of enemies or scapegoats as a unifying cause.

Religion and Government are combined – Fascist governments tend to use the most common religion in the nation as a tool to manipulate public opinion.

Disdain for intellectuals and for the arts (attack the smart people because they can point out flaws in their system).

Rampant cronyism (people who just follow along) and corruption.

Controlled mass media and propaganda.

How they manipulate propaganda:

Education (Salute to flag everything at school).

Physical fitness (P.E. is very hard).